Subscriber&#39;s-telephone instrument.



A. H. WEISS. SUBSGRIBERS TELEPHONE INSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 1, 1904.

Patented Mar. 23, 1909.

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ALFRED H. WEISS, OF EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO KELLOGG SWI'IOHBOARD da SUPPLY COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

SUBSCRIBERS-TELEPHONE INSTRUMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 23, 1909.

Application filed September l, 1904. Serial No. 222,927.

To all lwhom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED II. Wnrss, a citizen of the United States, residing at Evanston, in the county oit Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Subscribers-Telephone Instruments, of which the following is a specification. y i

My improvements relate to subscribers tele hone instruments and particularly to the ook switch mechanism thereof, which is used to change the circuits of the instrument from normal condition to talking condition, and vice versa, by the taking up and replacing of the telephone receiver.

It has been found desirable in instruments of this class to utilize a bunched set of flat superposed springs for the switch, said springs being provided with suitable platinum contacts through which the. electric circuits are madeand broken. 'lhese springs are usually of considerable strength and in some'combinations of circuits a large number ofsuch springs and a somewhat extended movement of the same are required to suitably operate the same, For these reasons a considerable power is required to suitably l operate the said springs and this is ordinarily furnished by means of the receiver which is placed upon the projecting end of the switch hook when the telephone is not in use. The weight of the receiver operates the said springs through thc medium ol the switch hook mechanism to place said springs in a state of stress, their elasticity being ordinarily depended upon to return them to position for talking when the receiver is lifted from the hook. It has been proposed heretofore to operate these switch springs in various manners, a hook switch in the form of an elbow lever being sometimes provided in which the receiver is hung upon the end of one arm of the elbow lever and the other arm is depended upon to engage and operate the switch springs. Other arrangements have included a vertically-reciprocating rod between the switch hook and the springs by 1 means of which the latter were operated.

These arrangements, generally speaking, en-

counter the difficult that the greater the movement imparte to the springs the greater the power required upon the switch hook, which means that a sutliciently heavy receiver must be employed to operate said springs to the limit of their movement and when under the greatest tension. In the `case of telephone desk stands it is often desired to locate such springs in the base of the instrument or in the neighborhood ci the base, so that they may be readily placed in position and inspected and repaired, and this further increases the di'fliculty mentioned, particularly with the elbow type ol" lever, since the arm utilized to engage and operate the springs must be considerably longer than the projecting short arm upon which the receiver is adapted to be hung.

My invention has among other objects that k of overcoming the ditliculties mentioned and by means of which a considerable movement may be imparted to the springs without any or at least a great increase in the power that must be applied to the switch hook toward the limit of its movement. In accomplishing this result I preferably arrange a toggle mechanism between the springs and the switch hook by means of which when the greatest power is required to operate the switch springs the said mechanism is in position to exert its greatest eliect thereon, whereby a large movement of the many or lew springs may be secured with a telephone receiver' ol not undue weight.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a switch hook mechanism for desk stands that is simple and cheap to construct and eliicient in operation.

One embodiment of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, oi" which:

Figure 1 is a sectional view of a telephone desk stand embodying the improvements Fig. 2 is a section upon the line 2 2 of Fig. l looking toward the head of the stand 5 Fig.

, 3 is a detail view of the rigid joint between the two portions oi the elbow lever of the hook switch; Fig. 4 is a detail view of the connection between the two portions o'l" the toggle lever and of the roller at the lower end of the latter lever and Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the projecting end of the operating spring of the set.

The desk stand comprises a base 2 of cast iron or other suitable material having a central aperture from which extends the standard consisting of the brass or other tube 3, having a threaded ring or nut 4 at its lower end resting upon the upper edge of the central aperture in the base 2, a suitable nut 5 threading upon the lower end of said tube within a recess provided therefor in the inner face of the base 2 and serving to clamp the said standard and base together. At the upper end of this standard a head 6 is provided, to the upper end of which the telephone transmitter 7-indicated by dotted lines-is pivoted in the usual or desired manner, and which is secured to said standard by means of the depending flange 8 fitting outside of the said tube 3 and secured thereto through the medium of one or more screws 9. A hard rubber tube 10 may be slipped over the metallic tube 3 to provide a better appearance. To the lower side of the head 6 and within the flange 8 a block 11 is secured by the screws 12, said block being provided'with a depending lug 13 to which is secured a suitable pivot for the hook switch consisting of a shouldered screw or bolt 14 provided with a nut 15 upon its threaded end and through the medium of which it may be securely clamped and locked in place in the lug 13.

The switch hook which is pivoted upon this bolt or screw 14 is provided with an outwardly-extending arm 16, a slot being provided for said arm in the tube 3 and the flange 8 and a suitably-formed hook 17 is provided upon the outer end o f said arm 16 upon which the receiver is adapted to be hung when the instrument is not in use.

This switch includes also an arm 18 rigidly connected with said arm 16 and extending downwardly through the standard or tube 3. On account of ease in manufacture the arm 16 is preferably formed of two punched pieces riveted together, and forming also the upper end of the arm 18. The lower portion of this latter is formed by means of a single strip riveted to said two portions as indicated in Fig. 3. The third part of the switch hook comprises the bar 19, also preferably formed from two pieces of punched sheet metal riveted together as indicated in Fig. 4, the upper end of which is pivoted as at 20 to the lower end of the arm 18 and the lower end of which carries the roller 21 preferably of insulating material and which is provided upon each end with suitable insulating washers 22.

The switch springs in any desired number are located in the hollow base 22 and if need be are insulated from each other and from the base by suitable insulating strips or blocks and are clamped together and in position within the base by means of the ser Us 23. @ne of these springs has a forwardly projecting end 24 in which the roller 21 carried by the arm 19 of the switch hook is adapted to rest. The full lines indicate the position of the parts when the .receiver is not upon the hook 17 and the dotted lines indicate their position when the receiver is placed thereon. In the position shown in full lines the arm 16 of the switch hook has been moved to its upper position by means of the elasticity of the spring 24 of the set of switch springs though it will be understood that other means might be provided to cause or assist in this movement. rilhe said switch is stopped by the upper edge of the slot formed in the flange 8 of the head 6 but it is apparent that any suitable stop may be provided for this purpose. Upon placing the receiver upon the switch hook the arm 18 thereof is moved toward the right which causes the toggle mechanism censisting of arms 18 and 19 to straighten, thereby depressing the spring 24 and changing the switch springs and the circuits controlled thereby from talking condition to normal condition. It is apparent that as the arm 16 descends the spring 24 exerts a greater force upon the roller 21, due to its increased tension, but owing to the greater leverage afforded by the toggle arrangement of the arms 18 and 19 the power exerted by the weight of the receiver upon said springs is increased and the switch is thus positively operated. A large movement may thus be imparted to the free ends of the springs in order to make goed contacts between the lower springs and to permit the upper springs to separate from each other. In order to prevent the pivot 2O of the toggle mechanism from approaching too closely a line between the pivot 14 at the upper end of the switch and the center of the switch 21 at the lower end of the switch, l preferably curve the lower end of the arm 18 as shown at 25, so vthat when the hook is depressed to its greatest exent said arm will strike the inside of the tube 3 and act as a stop to prevent the further movement thereof. it will be observed that this stop might be formed in any desired manner without departing from the scope of the invention.

l have not shown the circuits or the wiring of the desk stand to which my improvements are applied as they form no part of the invention and may conform to the particular instrument and circuits with which the invention may be employed. In the head 6 and the block 11 I have, however, indicated an aperture 26 which may be utilized for the passage of the conductors from the transmitter to the base of the instrument. The rear ends of the springs are shown provided withsthe usual projections 27 to which the circuit conductors may readily be soldered. Anyfdesired cover may be provided l'or the open bottom ol' the base 2.

It is thus apparent that I have provided a switch mechanism which overcomes the aforesaid difliculties and which is positive and elicient in operation and is comparatively simple to manufacture. It is also evident that various details may departl'rom those specifically described, hence I would not desire to be limited in all respects and in all claims thereto.

But having thus described my invention in one practical form what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a telephone desk stand, the combination with a hollow standard and base, of an angular hook switch lever pivoted at the top of the standard and having an arm extending down inside thereof, switch springs in the base of the stand, and a member hinging upon the lower end ol' the hook lever and engaging the free end ol said switch springs adapted by its downward movement to actuate said springs, substantially as described.

2. In a telephone desk stand, the combination with a hollow base, of a hollow standard mounted thereon, switch. springs for controlling the circuit of said stand disposed within said base, a hook switch mechanism within said standard upon which the receiver is adapted to be suspended, said mechanism being suitably pivoted near its upper end and containing a toggle joint, said mechanism being adapted to actuate said springs by the lengthening out ol the members of the toggle joint when power is applied to said joint by the placing of the receiver upon its hook, substantially as described.

3. In a telephone desk stand, the combination with a hollow base, of a hollow standard mounted thereon, switch springs for controlling the circuit of said stand disposed within said base, a hook switch mechanism within said standard up on which the receiver is adapt ed to be suspended, said mechanismbeing suitably pivoted near its upper end and containing a toggle), oint, said mechanism being adapted to lengthen out to actuate said springs when power is applied to said lioint by placing the receiver upon its hook, said springs being adapted to restore the hook-switch when the receiver is removed from its hook, substantially as described.

4. A hook switch mechanism for telephone desk stands comprising in combination an angular lever pivoted within the stand and having rigid integral members, one extending outside for holding the receiver and the other extending downward within the stand, a switch spring in the base of' the stand and a link pivotally connected at one end with the lower end of the lever and at the other end with the free end of said spring and adapted by its longitudinal motion to actuatc said spring, substantially as described.

5. In a telephone desk stand, the combination with a hollow base and a tubular standard, o' an angular' switch-hook pivoted at the top ot said standard, one limb of said switchhook extending ontw` rd to yhold the receiver, and the other .limb extending downward within said standard and adapted to strike against the inner wall ol said standard to limit the downward motion oilE the hook, a pivot carried at the lower end of said hook and engaging a movable arm, switch springs to control the circuits of said desk stand, said movable arm being also pivoted upon the free end of' said switch springs and serving by its vertical motion to aetuate said springs in the movement of the switch-hook, substantially as described.

6. In a desk stand, the combination with a standard, of an angular hook-switch pivotally supported at the top of the standard with one limb extending downwardly within the hollow portieri of the standard, switch springs horizontally mounted in the base of the stand, and a link connected between the free end ol said springs and the lower end ol the switch-hook, the normal pressure ol' the springs on the lower end of said link being adapted to hold the switch-hook in its upper position and the weight of the receiver being adapted to hold the switch-hook in its lower position, the lower end of said hook being adapted to abut the inside ol the standard to limit the movement of the switch-hook, substantially as described. e

7. In a telephone desk stand, the combination with tubular standard, of a switchhook supported at the upper end ol" the tube, the said sufitch-hook being angular in form and comprising two pieces with a third depending limb secured between them, switchA springs in the base of the stand, and a link connecting between the lower end of said depending limb and the i'rec end of' the switch springs, whereby the circuit of the springs will be changed by the movement ol" the switch-hook, substantially as described.

S. In a telephone desk stand, the combination with a tubular standard, of a switch hook supported at the upper end of the tube, the said switch hook being angular in form and comprising two pieces with a third depending limb secured between them, switch springs in the base ol the stand, and a link formed of two pieces spread apart at each end, one end being adapted to straddle the lower end of said depending limb and being pivoted thereto, and the other end engaging an insulating member which in turn engages said switch springs, substantially as described.

9. In a telephone desk stand, the combination of a hoo i switch having a member extending downward within the hollow portion 

